Fairy Falls, Wildflower

One of the more iconic falls of Oregon's Columbia Gorge, Fairy Falls can be reached by hiking a steep trail uphill consisting of around 30 switchbacks. After spending some time taking the obligatory 'postcard shots' of the falls, I looked around for a little different perspective. Just across the creek where the falls runoff, there was a lone salmonberry wildflower that I thought would be nice to incorporate into the foreground for a touch of color. The shot was technically very difficult to pull off (see below), but here is the finished product, cropped square.



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Technical Data: There were several challenges in taking this photograph. First, even at a pro camera's smallest aperture (most maximum depth of field), it is impossible to get tack sharp results for both the flower in the foreground, and the falls and foliage in the background. The small aperture would require a long exposure to let in enough light for proper exposure, and with a moderate wind blowing, the one second exposure required to produce the silky water of the falls, the blowing flower would be severely out of focus. How I solved this problem: I took three exposures. The first exposure was focused on the falls, ISO 100, f/18, one second exposure. The second and third exposures were focused on the flower and the ferns, ISO 800 f/11 which gave me an exposure time of 1/60s, enough to freeze the motion of the flower (after waiting and waiting for the wind to die down), and give a sharp result. I then manually blended the exposures in photoshop so that all subjects in the composition were properly exposed and in focus.